[HCARC] BYE BYE WINDOWS XP

[Gary J - N5BAA]

      A Warning from Kim Komando: 


            “I've got to tell it to you straight. If you're still on an old computer running the Windows XP operating system, D-Day is at hand. And by "D" I mean "dump it." 

            I understand if you don't want to face this. You have a computer and the setup works for you. Sure it's a bit clunky, but you don't want to switch. Why waste money on a new computer? I feel your pain. 

            Here's the deal. Microsoft is abandoning Windows XP on April 8, 2014. When you hear that euphemistic phrase "end-of-life," it means a lot of things. The big ones are no operating system fixes and no defenses against viruses and other online dangers. For more about the other things it means, click here for a tip that explains it all. 

            Since the end of Microsoft's security updates is big news, hackers and scammers are going to be targeting computers still using XP. You're going to be very, very vulnerable. 

            Now, if you use an XP computer to, say, write a book or manage your photos and you never connect to the Internet, you should be fine. (Do please remember that your computer is quite old and could die at any moment, so you'd better have your files backed up!) 

            If you have an XP computer and just browse the Internet occasionally, without the use of passwords for anything ever, you're probably fine as well. 

            If you're doing anything else ? signing into membership websites of any type, or doing any email at all ? you really need to make a change. And if you're doing banking or using credit cards online for anything, you've really got to face reality. “

            AND WHEN YOU GET YOUR NEW COMPUTER YOU WILL BE GOING TO WINDOWS 8.0 OR 8.1.  The new Windows 8 doesn’t come with a full featured email program such as the mail program that came with XP that would work with all types of email servers.  If your server is an SMTP server you can’t use either the email program that does come with Windows 8 or the ones you can purchase from Microsoft.  HOWEVER, you can download Windows Essential Suite (it’s free) and get a really nice email program and other programs that are FREE and work with an SMTP server. 



            Gary J
            N5BAA
            HCARC Secretary 2013/14
            2014 Field Day COORDINATOR